Memories of the Academy Days
by nejitenfoevah
Summary: She's kept her love for him a secret, but now that it's gotten out, what will she do about it? And now HE knows... NejixTen
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! this is my first, so please R&R. I have to do this, so**

**Disclaimer- i don't own any of the Naruto characters. Peace!**

_Prologue_

_Nine years ago…_

The rain was falling like there was no tomorrow. Tenten, Hinata, and Neji were the only kids from the ninja academy left at the pickup. Tenten and Hinata stood together near the ending of the roof, and Neji sat alone on a bench in the far back. He didn't expect Hiashi to come this early, so he pulled out the snack he'd packed for himself.

"Hinata, what are you doing over the weekend?" Tenten asked, bored but slightly interested in her answer.

"Well…" Hinata stammered, "I-I don't really know… Father may make me train more.." Hiashi held strength higher than her well-being, and Hinata shuddered at the thought of more training.

Tenten patted her back. "I'll pray for you."

Hinata giggled, and peeked at Neji, who was munching slowly at a bag of chips. "I just hope that the rain lets up, or we may have to go with you…"

"What, is Hiashi the wicked witch of the west? Is he gonna melt in the rain?" Tenten joked.

Hinata laughed, and said, "Something like that…!"

Neji grunted. He stared up at the gray-black sky, a blank expression clouded the thoughts he held inside. Tenten snuck a peek at Hinata's cousin, blushing deeply.

A woman walked up to the three kids, and said, "I'm supposed to tell Neji and Hinata Hyuuga that their father can't pick them up today. He said to find a hotel or stay at a friends' house." At that, the woman stalked away.

Hinata and Neji's eyes connected with a confused look, then turned to Tenten's, a pleading look falling over the previous one.

"…Fine." Tenten said. A couple of hours later, Tenten's mom picked them up and they went home.

_W-wow! Neji Hyuuga's in the same room as me!!_ Tenten thought. She was lying in her bed, with Hinata on the ground next to her, and Neji at the foot of the bed, also on the floor. _In _my _room! It's so awesome! But.. It's only for one night._

She could hear Neji roll over in his sleeping bag, and Hinata's soft breathing. It lulled her to sleep. The seven-year-old sighed, and finally closed her eyes.

"MOM! We gotta get to the academy! I'm- we're- gonna be late! Now MOVE! Hustle!" Tenten shouted as she frantically threw her clothes on. Neji was in the guest room.

"Honey, I can't drive you there today, I'm working. Run to school." Her mom yelled back.

The run to school was exhausting, and Tenten collapsed in the last third of the run. She got up, and walked slowly, and Hinata and Neji had to sacrifice being on time.

"Ow…" Tenten groaned, clutching her ankle. It burned.

Hinata pulled out her handy-dandy medical cream and rubbed some on, but that was about as much as she could do. "I hope this will stop the pain…"

"I don't think I can walk…" said Tenten. Neji rolled his eyes and bent down. "Get on." He commanded. Tenten got onto his back, and he stood up with her legs in his arms.

They piggybacked all the way to the academy.

And it piggybacked all the way to Tenten's diary.

* * *

Chapter one:

_Present day- Tenten is sixteen_

Thinking back to the days when she was in the academy made Tenten giggle. She had kept her kid-crush on Neji a secret since she knew that Neji would never date anyone (he was so withdrawn). It had grown into a bigger, real crush. She kept it under wraps.

"Tenten!" she jerked her head up.

"What? What happened?" Tenten spluttered. The class laughed and pointed fingers. "Aw, shut up!" she growled. Shizune, who was teaching them about medical creams (thus the memory), had her arms crossed, and was smirking at Tenten.

"I figure this means you'd like to tell the answer to the class?" Shizune lifted an eyebrow.

"No, ma'am…" Tenten sank back in her chair. A few minutes later, the bell rang, and the stampede made its way out into the halls and into the cafeteria.

Sakura caught up with her. "You totally spaced out back there. Who were you thinking about?" Sakura said, using her _I know you have a crush, tell me _voice. They walked to the oak tree in the middle of the high school campus and sat down under it.

"I was just… thinking about the days we had at the academy." Tenten said, trying to sound confident, but even she didn't believe herself.

Sakura picked up her fork. "Come _on,_ Tenten. You and I both know that's not what was going on. Who's the lucky fellow?"

"Do I _have _to tell you? I mean, it's… kinda embarrassing." Tenten murmured.

"Yeppers."

"Okay…"

"…"

"…"

"Tell me already!"

"Okay! It's… Neji." Tenten admitted finally.

"_WHAT?!"_ Sakura screamed, then burst into a fit of laughter. "You- love- _Neji?!_" she laughed as Tenten tackled her. "That's hilarious! You know he doesn't date!"

Tenten sighed. "I know… I could always hope, though."

Ino and Hinata just walked up, and Sakura regained her composure. "Hey!" Ino crowed, "What's going on over here?"

"Nothing!" Tenten blurted out, and shot dagger eyes at Sakura to shut her up.

"I heard you're crushing on my nii-san!" Hinata said softly. "He never tells me anything about who he likes, so I … won't be a lot of help, I guess." She giggled.

Tenten had never been more embarrassed before then.

* * *

Neji, as always, sat alone at one of the benches outside. He watched Naruto trip down the stairs. Kiba and Choji were whistling innocently at the top. He gave a low chuckle, but it was quick and almost faked. His mind was on eavesdropping on the girls who were sitting under the oak tree.

But when he heard what Tenten cried, his mind went blank.

_What?!_

**Ha ha, but in the reviews tell me what you want to happen. I may use one of your ideas!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I admit it, the first chapter sucked. But it's the first chapter. The next ones will be so much better.**

**Disclaimer- I still don't own Naruto sigh or any of its characters.**

Tenten grabbed her backpack and slammed her locker. She shuffled down the hall through all of the other teens, trying to beat the rush out of the parking lot. A hand on her shoulder stopped her, and she turned to look up to the owner.

Neji looked down at her with a troubled look.

"What?" Tenten cried, confused. "What did I do?!"

"Come. We need to talk," Neji said sternly. He dragged her through the hallway, back where Tenten had just come. It got her steamed.

"Get the hell offa me!" she screamed, and tried to yank her hand away. But Neji had an iron grip. "I hafta go home!" She tried to pry his fingers off of her wrist, but they wouldn't come loose. Inside, she was overjoyed. _Ohmygod! Neji Hyuuga is holding my hand! Well, not really hand, but close enough to count!_ She thought, but kept her face upset. She couldn't break the thin layer of self control she had left now.

_Because, what if Neji doesn't like me…? _Tenten wondered. _If he doesn't it would be bad. Horrible! A total tragedy. _"I'm getting pissed, Nej!" Tenten warned, but threw in a nickname. _Our first!!_

"Deal with it."

"You suck, Neji Hyuuga."

"Gee, thanks."

Tenten couldn't break past his calm façade. _No wonder, he's spent years building it up._

They ended up under the roof of the outside walkway, near the courtyard with the oak tree she always sat under during lunch. "What are we doing here, Nej?" she asked

"Talking."

"Oh…. Okay." She said, a little confused.

"What… did you mean by," he swallowed, "what you said at lunch..?"

Tenten's eyebrows shot up. "Y-you heard that?!" she gasped. It felt like the ground was falling beneath her, and her vision blurred. Her legs buckled, and she fainted. Neji bent down and shook her.

"Tenten? Are you okay?!" he said frantically. "Tenten!"

* * *

The icepack on her forehead began to hurt, so she waved it away. Tenten was gaining consciousness, and she opened her eyes. She blinked a couple times, then let out a weak, "Neji…"

"I'm here," he said softly.

She really opened her eyes now, and began to recognize the surroundings. _I'm in the nurse's office? _She thought._ What happened?_

As if he read her mind, Neji answered her question. "You fainted. From the heat, probably." Tenten knew he was covering something up, from the way his eyes drifted downwards. The nurse had just reentered the room. She was carrying a large box.

_Oh! I remember now. I was talking to him, and he asked me what I meant about-_ Tenten gasped. Neji gave her a quizzical look, and she closed her mouth quickly. _Ack! He knows!_

She felt her whole world crashing down around her. How could she have let this slip out? She'd spent years covering for herself, keeping her crush under wraps, but now everyone knew. And the one she'd been crushing _on_ knew! She felt like she couldn't breathe. She gasped for air and tried to calm herself down.

Neji looked at Tenten's face as she steadied her breathing. She began to look more peaceful… more beautiful….

* * *

_Ten years ago- Neji and Tenten are six_

"Class, we have a new member today," Iruka sensei announced one day. "I'd like you all to meet Tenten." Neji looked away from the window he'd been looking through to see the new kid. He expected an average student, like Sakura or Kiba.

A little girl with her soft, shiny brown hair pulled back in two small buns stepped through the door Iruka was holding. She was blushing, and was twirling a lock of hair that had fallen out of one of the buns. Iruka showed her to her seat, right in front of Neji.

A few minutes passed. He longed to touch her soft hair, and talk to her, but he was shy then. But finally, he reached out to touch. He was inches… centimeters, seconds away from touching her hair, and then-

She turned around. He was caught, wide-eyed with the deer-in-the-headlights look and his hand inches from her nose. Tenten giggled, and said, "What are you doing?" She kept giggling until she got Hinata, who sat next to her, giggling too. Then there were two giggling six-year-olds in front of him. Neji pulled his hand away and looked out the window again. He didn't want anything to do with laughing.

He did, however, want something to do with the new girl.

* * *

_Present day- Neji is seventeen, Tenten is sixteen_

Remembering this made Neji chuckle. He still didn't laugh a whole lot, but it intrigued him a little now that he was older.

Tenten opened her eyes. "What are you laughing at?" she said, thinking that he was laughing at her crush, which brought her back to gasping for breath.

"I'm just… remembering the academy." He said, a dreamy look in his eyes. Tenten fell asleep a couple of minutes later, and Neji waited the whole time.

**The next chapter is going to be intense. but i'm not telling you anything :) Yay for cliffhangers**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ooooooh, the big kissy-kissy scene! i love doing these! but they alwas turn out mushy. Oh well! **

**I still don't own Naruto. I don't.**

Tenten had no sooner gotten home after being in the nurse's office until 8:00, than Neji showed up at her apartment door. "You never answered my question." He said, standing in the pouring rain. Tenten gave a dramatic sigh and invited him in.

"What did you mean by that, Tenten?" Neji pushed. "I have to know. Now."

_What am I gonna do?! _She thought frantically. _I could always lie. Yeah! _"Well, my friends and I were making up fake rumors to, um, spread for fun. Just to bug you!" Tenten didn't even believe herself.

"Lies. Tell me the truth."

Tenten blushed deeply. "Well, I um…" she swallowed, "l-liked you s-since we went t-to the ac-cademy, a-and…" she couldn't keep going. She averted her eyes, and tried to find a distraction, but none came her way.

Neji wasn't making any sound. That was bad. _Bad, bad, bad, bad! Horrible! This sucks!_

She could feel tears swimming in her eyes, and sank on to the couch. Neji kept standing. _I bet he hates me now! And for all of the work I did to cover this up! _Tenten put her heads in her hands and sobbed. Neji looked at her, crouched over, crying. Of course, she didn't notice. He sat down.

"I've b-been k-keeping this a secret f-for years!" She choked out, talking to herself. Neji figured she thought he was gone. "I-I bet he h-hates me n-now!"

"No I don't. I don't hate you."

Tenten's head whipped up. "You're still h-here!" she gasped. Neji gave her a half smile. And Tenten was caught off guard.

Neji was kissing her.

_Wait. He's… _kissing_ me?! Whoa! Shit! I was not expecting this!_

His hands were on her hips. She put hers on his chest, and didn't make one single attempt to pull away. This, Neji was grateful for.

* * *

"Urgh…" she groaned. Tenten rubbed her head. _What happened last night?_

Then she saw Neji, asleep, facing the other way on her couch. She scrunched her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. He was really cute when he was sleeping.

_What am I saying! It's bad enough that he kissed me last night- even though I love him- but now he's asleep on my _couch_?! That's so… slutty of me!_ Tenten thought. She never acted like this. She would never let a boy sleep with her!

Neji groaned and rolled over. He blinked his eyes open. "Good morning Ten…" he murmured, running his fingers through her hair, which had been pulled out of her usual buns. She blushed.

"Good morning, Nej!" she giggled and stood up. "What do you want for breakfast? I've got cereal, pancakes, waffles, you name it-" She slapped her hands down on the counter- "I can make it."

Neji stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered into her ear, "I'd rather get a kiss." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I gotta get home anyway; Hiashi's gonna spaz when he finds out I've been gone all night. Hinata's probably worrying about me, too." He grabbed his keys which he'd thrown on Tenten's table and went out the door. "See you at school?" Neji asked halfway through.

"Yeppers." She answered, not looking up from her pancake batter. "Bye!"

Neji chuckled, and closed the door. Tenten waited a moment to make sure he was far away from her apartment. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I KISSED NEJI HYUUGA!!"

**Okay, this chapter was short. But wait till they get to school!! R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, things really start heating up in the next chapter, but this sort of puts a big base on it. whatevs! -NTFE3**

Later that day, when most of the sophomores were driving home, Tenten was talking to Neji, while closing her locker. She grabbed her keys and slammed her locker shut. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you tonight, like we planned." Tenten giggled, and walked away.

Neji caught her by the arm and kissed her. Tenten put her hands on his face and laughed when they broke off. "Like we planned." Neji gave a crooked smile, and went the other way down the hall.

* * *

Tenten picked up her doodle notebook and her favorite pen, plopped down on the couch, and turned on her TV to listen to something. She flipped to an empty page and started drawing. You wouldn't notice it on the outside, but Tenten is really artistic. She can make anything out of everything.

By the end of her doodling, the page was filled up with a whole bunch of 'Neji's and little pink hearts. She put her pen down and grabbed her head. _What's going on with me? Two days ago I wouldn't give a damn about what Neji Hyuuga was doing, and now I'm drawing _hearts _around his _name_?! I'm going crazy!! _

She couldn't sit there for long, because, as planned, she was going on a date with Neji. Quickly, Tenten threw on a pink-purple frilly dress. It had spaghetti straps, and a sort of tank top feel, but with frills that went down a lot lower than a tank top. She put mascara, lipstick, and eye shadow on, and got her purse. Her car was a little green buggy which she drove to the restaurant.

It was a really popular place called "The Hot Rock". They served sushi, seafood, and their special, the hot rock.

Tenten walked through the door- more like ran- and sat down at the booth Neji was in. "Sorry I'm late," she breathed, "I lost track of time."

"'S'okay." Neji said. "I already ordered us drinks. Do you like Mr. Pibb?"

"Yeah! I'm totally fine with that." Tenten replied, feeling her cheeks burn, and felt flustered. _Okay, I am _seriously _going crazy!_ She took her napkin and laid it in her lap. "So…"

"This place is pretty hot right now," Neji commented, eyeing the dance floor. Tenten glanced over there, frowning at the dancing girls. _I'm jealous?!_ "Right?"

Tenten came back from her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah, uh huh…." She stuttered. "They're really good dancers, huh?" She watched the boys' side show their moves, then looked at Neji. He was glaring at them. _Is… is Neji jealous too? _She covered her mouth to keep from giggling. _That's so… adorable! He's so cute! _"Neji, I don't like them. Don't get the wrong idea!"

He relaxed his muscles and turned his attention back to Tenten. "'Kay."

The waitress walked up and set their drinks down. "Are you ready to order?" she said, mostly to Neji. She seemed too friendly for Tenten's taste.

"I'd like the calamari." Tenten butted in, to save Neji from answering. If he wanted to be saved, that is. He looked pretty thankful, though.

"Um," Neji murmured, "I'd like the hot rock." The waitress gave him a not-so-secret smile.

"Of course! It'll be out soon. Call me if you need anything!" She said, and bounced away. Tenten glared at her back, and when Neji wasn't looking, stuck her tongue out at her. _This is so childish! Why am I doing this?_

"Tenten."

"Hm?"

"I'm not interested in her." He chuckled. "Don't worry."

"Good," Tenten breathed, glad.

* * *

_Nine years ago- Tenten is seven, Neji is eight._

Tenten sat on the little bench near the gates out of Konohagakure. She kept her hands intertwined around her knees, bent over a bit. Her eyes followed every little movement there was in sight. When she was this young, she would see everything. Almost like Neji with his Byakugan.

She was so focused on the movements, she hadn't noticed Ino walk up behind her. "Tenten!" she crowed. Tenten jumped nearly a foot in the air off of the bench.

"Gah! What are you doing, scaring me like that, Ino?" Tenten gasped.

Ino giggled, like a tiny girl, and said, "I just walked up. Watcha doin'?"

"Um… Staring, I guess."

"Well, stop staring and come with me. We've got a serious makeover to do, Tenten!" Before Tenten could protest, Ino was already dragging her through the village. And they didn't stop for anything or anyone, except for Neji.

He kind of gawked at them, probably because Ino had makeshift handcuffs on Tenten's wrists (using her hands), and Tenten literally on the ground, being dragged. But his only comment was a bored "Hn" and stood with his arms crossed.

"We're getting Tenten a makeover!" Ino answered the unspoken question. "It's for you!"

She looked down at Tenten with a smile, which was returned with an astonished glare. "What?" Ino asked innocently. "I'm only speaking the truth! Don't you love Neji?"

"_**What?**_" She screamed. "Ino, you're such a brat!" At that, Tenten yanked her hands out of the 'handcuffs' and stomped down the street. Not fast enough, though, because faintly she could hear Ino say to Neji, "Just you wait and see; she'll come back. It's only the first stage of love!"

* * *

_And I've made it so far, now. Ino, if you could have known what was going to happen then, I would be so…. _Pause… _dead. _Tenten thought. The memories she had of her days at the academy were ones of laughs and embarrassments. And her nonstop crushing on Neji. Her Nej!

Their food arrived, and they ate. They chatted a bit, but because both of them were a percentage of shy, they didn't say a whole lot besides, "this is a nice place," and "So, what's your favorite etc?"

Until they left and went to the bar, where they met up with Hinata and Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, Temari and Shikamaru, Ino and Choji, and Kiba (who was still single :D).

Then the drinks came.

**Oooh, another cliffhanger. I love these things! They make for a really good story. R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**coupla hours passed, and now most everybody's drunk. hee hee! -NTFE**

"Who's up for another round, guys?" the bartender crowed to the group. They all started shouting out 'yes's and laughing maniacally. They were crowded around a table where they played cards. The bartender brought them more beers, and they laughed again.

"So, Ne-eji," Naruto slurred his words, as he was drunk. "Did y-oo and Tent-en get it o-on?"

Neji, not as drunk as Naruto, replied, "Yeah, su-ure…" then refocused on the cards he had in his hands. He was playing against Shikamaru, who only had a couple of beers and was only a little tipsy, and Kiba, who was delirious.

Tenten and the girls were on the couch behind the boys, and they were laughing as well. "We didn't do-o it… Ne-ej.." she laughed loudly. Temari wasn't very drunk. She'd had enough drinks in her time to have as many as she wanted and only be like Shikamaru now.

Ino looked at the ceiling and laughed like there was no tomorrow. "That guy looks fu-unny, doesn't he lo-ook fu-unny?!" she choked through her laughs as she pointed at a guy who walked through the door. "HE LOOKS SO FU-UNNY!!" she screamed again, then finally passed out. Naruto laughed hysterically at Ino, and Kiba and Choji joined him.

"'He looks so-o fu-unny!'" Naruto imitated Ino, which threw the boys into another round of laughs.

Hinata went to Naruto and sat in his lap. They toyed with each other, teasing and paying no attention to the fact Hinata's feet had just knocked over a table and two chairs. Tenten, Temari, and Sakura finally got up and sat at the bar for some mildly drunk gossip.

Temari was the first to speak. "So, what did you and Nej-i do tonight, hu-uh?" she hiccupped a little.

"We we-ent out for dinner at the Ho-ot Rock." Tenten giggled. "We didn't get it o-on, if that's wha-at you were thi-nking.." She tipped over the back of her chair.

Lucky for her, Temari caught her before she hit the ground. "We gotta get her home. Right, Sakura?" Temari looked around for her. "Um, Sakura..?" She spotted her legs on the chair. Sakura had fallen over too. They were both too drunk to stay conscious, and because Temari was a little drink, she couldn't drive them home.

With the two girls on her shoulders, Temari excused herself and them from the party, thanking Neji for Tenten's dinner. Outside, she propped them both on the wall and put some money in the pay phone to call a cab.

* * *

"Tenten. Are you awake now?"

Tenten's vision was blurry. Who was talking? She couldn't recognize the room at first. Someone shook her. "C'mon, Tenten. It's no fun without you!" Sakura pleaded.

"Uhn…" she groaned. "What am I doing here? What happened…?"

"You got drunk and passed out, like I did. You do know that Naruto asked Neji if you two got it on and he said yes, right?" Temari looked amused. Tenten shot up.

"He WHAT?!" She bellowed, "WE DIDN'T! THAT'S SO CRAZY!"

"Well, 'Nej' seems to think so." Sakura said, imitating Tenten's couple nickname for Neji. "And now, so do Naruto and the others."

Tenten stomped over to her bag and picked her phone out. "You know what? I'm gonna give him a call." Sakura and Temari tried to grab the phone away from her, but she walked away without looking up. She was already speed dialing him.

"Yeah. Hello, Neji?"

"Hn..? Tenten? Is that you?" Neji sounded tired, groggy.

"Yeppers, it's me. Hey, did you tell the guys we did it? Because we _so _did not." Tenten added a chuckle at the end to make it sound friendlier. _Not that I don't want to! _She thought dreamily. Only, she didn't realize that she said it out loud. Not until she noticed Temari and Sakura laughing their guts out.

"Um…" Neji stuttered, no doubt turning tomato red. "Well…."

"Ohmigosh! Nej, I'm so sorry! I did _not _mean that!" Tenten blurted out.

"I do to."

"Of course you do, I-! WHAT?!" Tenten nearly screamed into the phone. "Um, Neji, sorry. I have to, uh… you know…" _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _She mentally slapped herself. _Do what? What do I have to do that Neji would know about?! I have the worst comebacks in the WORLD!_

"Yeah, yeah. Don't really need an explanation. See you tomorrow night." Neji said. "Kiss."

Tenten giggled. "Okay, tomorrow. Kiss!" He hung up.

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!" Tenten was tackled to the floor by Temari and Sakura.

"Get the hell OFFA me!" She automatically shoved them. Hard.

"Ouch!" Sakura cried. "What was that for? We just wanted to know what he said, dammit!"

"He said... stuff." Tenten blushed deeply. _I can't believe he said... that he wanted to do it too..._

_Where is my crush going to take me?!_

**_I'm so bad its good. Ilove torturing the characters with embarrassment! -NTFE3 kiss!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this is so late, i was on vacation. but now you find out about last night!**

**-nejitenfoevah-**

_Nine years ago- Tenten is seven, Neji is eight_

_It was at night. At Ino's house. Above the flower shop. Without the 'rents around. And the girls were up to no good._

"_Heh heh, so we have the address, the roller skates, and the instruments of torture, correct?" Ino whispered, cackling. "Let's go get them!" _

_She led Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata through the village, all of them on roller skates and wearing ski masks, on their mission. To get the boys. _

_Good._

"_In here, guys.." Hinata motioned at a hallway. _

_Inside, there were many sleeping bags. They held Naruto, Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. Ino and Sakura snickered. Hinata blushed, and got the instruments of torture out of her pack._

_There was shaving cream, string, two huge water balloons, and syrup. Lots and lots of syrup!_

_When they had finished their mission, they snuck back out. And when the boys woke up in the morning, they awoke to a sticky, stupid surprise._

_They could hear Naruto scream like a girl from the flower shop."YOU BITCHES!" Sasuke yelled._

_Sakura laughed harder, as did the other girls, when they heard Hiashi telling them off for "using foul language that Hyuugas and I bet Uchihas never use"! _

_Tenten sighed when she saw Neji the next day, he looked so… dreamy. But then, he turned and saw her, and said under his breath, "what a bitch," and walked away._

_She slumped to the ground and started crying._

* * *

Present day, Neji is 17, Tenten is 16

She never was let down like that since then. She hadn't allowed herself to get anywhere near him until the past few days. Tenten had kept her distance, swerving away from him like he was sick and contagious. No, now she couldn't stay away anymore.

Tenten was drawn like a magnet.

She turned her car on and drove to the high school, but about a fourth of the way there, she stopped in her tracks. Neji was walking on the sidewalks to the school.

"Hey," Tenten called, rolling down her window. "Wanna lift?"

"Heh, sure," Neji smiled. "I got time to burn."

"what's that supposed to mean, Nej?" Tenten laughed. "You think you can outrun the car? You suck. It's not that old."

Neji chuckled and got in the passenger side.

"Y'know, I was thinking about that time we played that awesome prank on you guys back in the academy days." Tenten flashbacked. She chuckled, then continued, "You were so… shy then!" she tripped over her words.

"Was not." Neji remembered the words he'd spoken to her.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, smiles wiped from their faces. Tenten, hunched over the wheel, broke the silence. "Do you… I mean, do you still think that way of me?" she whispered, eyes on the road, but still sad.

Neji hesitated. Tenten's heart sped up. "No."

She sighed and leaned back again. "Good. I was really worried there for a moment." She breathed.

Neji nodded. "I was really nervous. Do you really think that I would still feel that way? I mean…" he paused, his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "What about… what I said on the phone last night?"

Tenten gasped, and Neji turned redder. "No, I didn't mean that, I just was worried and I get weird! Don't be mad-!"

"I'm not mad." She said confidently. "I'm just scared." She turned to him, her eyes filled with tears. She hiccupped. "What will happen to us? I'm so scared, Nej! What if I… get pregnant? I wouldn't be able to finish school or go to college or get a job because I'd have a little baby to take care of!"

Neji laughed, and Tenten's eyes got wide. _Is he laughing at me?_ "You're not gonna get pregnant because we're not going to _do _it!" he chuckled. "We're just dating now. No biggie."

Tenten choked on her words. "O-oh!" she blushed hard. "Sorry, Nej."_ God, I'm such a doof!_

They pulled up in the car circle in the front of the school. Neji opened his door, grabbed his stuff, and slammed the door back closed. Tenten did the same.

"So… I guess I'll see you in class."

"Yeah," Tenten said in a small voice. "See you in class."

**Okay, so I've already started the next chapter, and It's not all that great but the one after that will be. hope youre having fun reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry that this is so late! I was on vacay an my power cord broke... anyways, enjoy!**

**nejitenfoevah!**

"Tenten… Tenten. Tenten!"

Tenten woke up with a snort. Ino was leaning over her with an aggravated look on her face. The rest of the classroom was dead. No one but them was in there. "Whaaat?"

Ino laughed, but it seemed forced. "Finally. You and me got detention, you doof." That made her spring out of her chair.

"Detention?! For what? I wasn't doing anything. I was sleeping!" Tenten screamed. "How the hell could I get detention _tonight?_ I've got a date with Neji!"

"We got detention for sleeping, duh!" Ino sneered, but she wasn't saying it in a mean way. "We get to write a five-hundred word essay on how it's important to sleep at home than in school. 'You can't stay up late, girls! Sleeping in class is not an option!'" she put on her teacher voice.

Tenten shoved her stuff in her bag. "Well, tell the teach that I'm not gonna give a moment of my personal life up to write a piece of shit that will end up in the garbage anyway!"

"Why?" Ino's eyes got bigger. "You and Neji are really actually truly dating now? And I thought I'd never see the day!" She got on her knees and pretended to pray.

Tenten sent a playful punch to the side of Ino's head and walked out of the classroom. _I'll just write the freakin' essay at home! Why hand out detentions for something that could just be homework?_

She hopped in her jeep and closed the door. She swung her bag into the back seat without looking and started up the engine. Just before she started to roll…

"Oww!" the backseat said. "Do you have to throw the bag so hard?! I'm sleeping here!" Tenten screamed and jumped a foot in the air, bumping her head hard. She turned around to find Sakura rubbing her head, too.

"Sakura? What the hell?"

"Hey, Ten, aren't you supposed to be in detention or something? Ino told me after I woke up."

"WHAT?!" Tenten yelled so loud people ten feet away could hear her through the car. "You were sleeping too, but you don't get detention? That's bullshit!"

Sakura laughed. "I've got detention, but I thought I'd skip to find out about what happened this morning. Neji looked very red this morning." She gave Tenten a mischievous smile.

"We just talked, is all." Tenten glared and started to drive. "Listen up, I gotta date to get to, and at this point I'll be ten minutes late. So when I park, get the hell out."

Sakura looked taken aback. "Gee, someone's got an attitude today!"

"Shut up."

* * *

Tenten looked as beautiful as ever. She had the cutest shoes to go with her long, flowing purple dress, and a nice purse as well. She ended up being a few minutes late, but Neji understood and brushed it off. They were bowling this time.

It was like a real match, since Neji and Tenten were both super-good at bowling, and in the end they both had the same score.

"Wow, Nej!" Tenten breathed. "You're too good. I'm not that great." Neji wrapped an arm around her. He laughed and led her out of the alley.

"No, you're just as good as I am."

Tenten blushed deeply. _You're so nice, Neji,_ she thought to herself,_ I wish I could even compare to you…_

"Are you okay?" Neji's voice brought her back to reality. "You kinda spaced out on me, Ten." He slipped his arm down to her waist and leaned her down against a tree. "I love you, Tenten."

Tenten leaned her head in. "I love you, too…" Their lips met, and she locked her arms around his neck, drifting into a haze.

* * *

School was "a drag" the next day. She was so tired, and her whole morning was a blur. She did finish her paper as punishment and was finally off the hook.

At lunch, she filled her plate and sat down with the girls under the tree.

"So how was the date?" Sakura said.

"Oh, it was great! We ended up in a tie." Tenten stuffed some pizza in her mouth.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yeah, in each other's arms and legs." She said in her snobby voice. Tenten's eyebrows shot up.

"Um, ex_cuse _me?!" she exclaimed. "You don't talk about me and Neji like that, you… you bitch!" _That's it! I've _had _it with Ino and her stupid remarks!_ She hit her.

Tenten hit Ino.

Ino stumbled to the ground and groaned. But she recovered quickly and decided to draw more attention to herself. "God, you immature jerk! Don't harass me!"

Tenten pushed her into the tree and kept Ino from moving. She started pounding her with her fists, screaming and crying as hard and loud as she ever had. Neji sprinted over to her and pulled her into his arms and away from Ino, who was being escorted to the nurse (not hurt, except for a few minor bruises). "I'm so sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Tenten sobbed into Neji's chest. He hugged her closer and breathed in her scent.

"I know, Ten. I know."

**Hope you liked it! i'm s glad you all reviewed and they were good. r&r!**


	8. Chapter 8

**You didn't like the ino thing?**

**you'll like this better, then, i hope. -nejitenfoevah**

_Nine years ago- Tenten is seven_

"_But Mo-om…. I really want to go to this!" Tenten pointed to her concert ticket. "And I already told Ino that I was going to let her come with me." Her mom rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically as she picked up her bag._

"_Honey, I'm going to work now, I don't have time to take you to the concert!" she said. "You should have checked with me before you told your little friend that she could come. I'll see you tonight!" Her mom walked out and locked the door behind them._

_Tenten walked to Ino's house with an air of misery around her. _How am I gonna tell Ino that she can't go? _Tenten thought. She knocked on the door._

_The door opened. "Hey!" Ino crowed. "You ready for the concert? I sure am!"_

"_We can't go." Tenten mumbled._

_Ino frowned. "What do you mean 'we can't go'?" she said angrily, close to yelling. "You invited someone else to go, didn't you!"_

_Tenten stepped back, surprised. "N-no, I didn't, Ino, I can expla-!"_

_Ino shoved Tenten off the welcome mat. "Go away, Tenten. I hate you! You knew how much I wanted to go, and you totally blew me off!" The door slammed in her face._

_Tears streamed down Tenten's face as she walked back home. Her mother was at work, as was her dad, so she was left alone for the majority of the day. _

_And it felt like it would be that way for a while._

* * *

_Present day- Neji is seventeen, Tenten is sixteen_

Tenten was really alone this time. Neji was there, but her friends had abandoned her. The rest of the day she had to sit through the stares and the comments and jokes made about her.

"Hey Tenten, wanna take me on in a wrestling match?"

"Tenten, how many punches does it take to put out an Ino?"

"Just. Shut. Up." Tenten growled at the crowds, who would then go "Oooooh" and back up.

Neji would drag her away, just like he did when she punched Ino. He would comfort her, make her feel like it wasn't her fault that it happened. _But it is! It's all my fault!_

She spent the night living with the guilt, and the morning, too.

At school, she decided to face it, and do what she felt like she had to do. "Ino," she touched Ino's arm lightly, so she wouldn't run away. "I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm really, really, really sorry." Her voice broke at the end and she mentally slapped herself. _I swore to myself I wouldn't cry!_

Ino turned to look at her. Her face looked perfect, except for a small, nearly skin colored bruise. Ino was too tough to let it hurt her seriously. "Yeah? Well, what I wanna know is why you hit me." She said, bordering on an angry tone.

"Well," Tenten took a deep breath, "I'm tired of you making rude comments about me and Neji. All I ask is that you please stop, and I won't lose my cool like that again. I promise." She had chosen her words carefully, and now was hoping desperately that it was accepted.

Arms wrapped around her at the end of her tiny speech. "I'm sorry I always say those things, Ten!" Ino mumbled, and Tenten wrapped her arms around Ino and smiled. "I guess… I guess I'm just jealous that you have a boyfriend and that you're so happy all the time with him. I've never been like that with any boy I date."

Tenten laughed. "It's okay. Friends?" she stuck her hand out. Ino took it and smiled widely, feeling like a little girl again.

"_Best _friends!"

**Hope you like the turnout. so now they're friends! but what will happen to Neji?**

**ooooooh, i love a cliffhanger :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I've decided to end the story here (unofficially, in case of begging:)) an i hope u enjoy!**

**nejitenfoevah**

That night, Tenten was lying on her bed, thinking about all of the things that had happened since she and Neji had gone out for the first time.

_Well, for starters, I did kiss him. And let's be honest with me; I haven't kissed anyone besides him. And then we both got jealous over the people at the hot rock for each other! But then we both went to the bar, and that was the first time I ever got really truly drunk. Drunk enough to pass out! And then- _Tenten gulped-_ I told him I wanted to have sex with him! AND HE AGREED! And then I had to go and ask him about it the next day and started to bawl like an idiot about getting pregnant and he said that we wouldn't. I'm so dumb! And then I got detention and beat Ino up. Damn, I really regret that. I really do. But we're friends now… I hope!_

She rolled over and pulled the covers lower. She had on her pajama top, but since she usually got super-hot at night, not her pants. Just underwear.

"Hm. I'm so tired! God, why can't I sleep!" she moaned, and kicked the covers off the bed.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing."

Tenten screamed. "THE CLOSET'S TALKING TO ME! IT'S TALKING!!" she screeched, pointing at her closet. It creaked open, and Neji came out, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Um, Neji?" Tenten jumped up and tied the sheets around her waist.

"Hn." He grunted, collapsing on her bed and closing his eyes.

"Um," Tenten said, "not to sound angry or anything, but what the_ hell _are you_ doing _in my _house!_ And in my _bed?!_" She shoved him onto the floor and sat down.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you." He opened his eyes now. "You seem… stressed. A lot, actually. I just want to know what's going on with you." He realized what had just come out of his mouth and said, "N-not that there's anything _wrong_ with you, 'cause I think you're perfect."

"Yeah, well, I sure can't imagine why you could ever get that idea," Tenten rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm stressed. I'm confused. Why am I even going out with you? I was supposed to keep the crush a secret!"

Neji took her hand from the floor. They both stared at the ceiling. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Nej," Tenten whispered, tearing up. "I'm confused, like I said."

"It's okay. I'm confused too." Neji smiled, and got next to Tenten on the bed. He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

* * *

_Nine years ago- Neji is eight, Tenten is seven_

_She was walking home, weeks after the concert mishap. Her house was close to Neji's so she walked home with him. Or on the other side of the road with him._

_They walked in silence for a while._

_Until Tenten crossed over to his side. "H-hey, Neji," she mumbled._

"_Hn." He grunted back. He wanted so badly to touch her hair, her cheek, her hand…_

"_So, um… Nice day out, huh."_

"_Hn."_

"_Yeaaah…." Tenten gasped._

_Neji had grabbed her hand, and was smiling- actual teeth showing smiling- down at her. "Yeah."_

**Hope you liked it, tell me if u want me to keep going:) I'm so happy, this is my first ff!**


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